296 LAY OUT OF XVIII. CENTURY STREETS 



In the towns, of course, the surroundings did little to help 

 the appearance of houses ; there they had to rely on their own 

 merits. Nevertheless the disposition of the streets often lent 

 picturesqueness to the houses that formed them. It is one of 

 the charms of most English towns that their appearance is the 

 result of fortuitous causes, or of some necessity which is no 

 longer obvious. In some towns, like Marlborough or Dunstable, 

 it is the width of the main street which gives character to the 

 place ; in others, like York, Canterbury, and (in a less degree) 

 Warwick, it is the narrowness which strikes the visitor. In 

 the one case the open spaces of the country are embodied in the 

 town ; there is room enough and to spare. In the other it is 

 clear that every foot of room was utilised. Yarmouth has a 

 very interesting lay out, evidently the result of premeditated 

 design and not of chance. The river upon which it is built turns 

 suddenly to the right as it approaches the sea, and runs for some 

 distance parallel to the sea front, leaving a certain space between 

 itself and the shore. Upon this restricted space the town was 

 built ; streets of no great width were formed parallel with the 

 river, next to which was a broad quay ; then at right angles to 

 the streets a series of narrow passages were formed, called 

 "rows." Although these "rows" are not more than 4 or 5 ft. 

 wide, they were formed of good houses, and it is surprising, in 

 traversing them to-day, when they have become degraded into 

 slums, to find remains of houses which must have been the 

 residences of wealthy people. But the circumstances of Yar- 

 mouth were peculiar. At King's Lynn, another ancient port in 

 the same county, although most of the old streets are narrow, 

 judged by modern standards, there is a very fine open space 

 known as the Tuesday market-place, which still retains much 

 of its old-world flavour. The old print of it which is reproduced 

 in Fig. 209 rather exaggerates its size, owing to the perspective 

 of the draughtsman ; the market hall and its circular adjuncts 

 have disappeared, but the Georgian buildings in the front and on 

 either side still remain, and that on the left retains its steps and 

 obelisks. Another old print one of Chelmsford (Fig. 210) gives 

 a good idea of that town in Georgian times. Most of the 

 houses are of the eighteenth century, and must have been quite 

 modern at the time when the print was published ; others are 

 of an earlier date. Their disposition is the result of a long 

 period of growth, and could never be achieved under a scheme 



